Needle-Gate: Why it Doesn’t Matter
November 2, 2023I sarcastically wrote yesterday that I was going to write a brilliant message, juxtaposing exegesis, and hermeneutics. Sounds kinda hoity-toity, doesn’t it? Hmmm: how do I deal with that? These two concepts in theology pretty much deal with interpreting and explaining biblical texts, but hermeneutics does so more from the perspectives of historical context, cultural…
The Problem of Evil
November 1, 2023I was going to write a brilliant message for today on exegesis and hermeneutics, juxtaposing one with the other. Really – it was going to be brilliant – until God stepped in and sent me a question from a reader of this site that was so much more important; and I decided that God being…
So You Want First Place?
October 26, 2023Today, my message is about selfishness and selflessness – two contrasting concepts that describe different ways of thinking and behaving and are in juxtaposition to each other. An important point is that neither selfishness nor selflessness is inherently good or bad. The context and intentions behind one’s actions play a crucial role in determining their…
Are you a Sheep or a Goat?
October 22, 2023“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, but the…
Perilous Times
October 11, 2023I so want to talk about the events happening in Israel these past several days, but if you’re like me, you’ve been keeping up with it and are as sickened and saddened as I am. As I write this, I cannot help but have to wipe away the tears that I don’t seem able to…
Get behind Me, Satan!
October 8, 2023In Matthew 16:23, Jesus quite harshly rebukes Peter. I have read this many times over the years but for some reason, today it reached out to me, and I asked myself “am I being like Peter?” Do I understand what God’s purposes are and can I differentiate them from men’s. Jesus juxtaposes these two concepts,…
Misguided Appreciation
October 5, 2023I had wanted to title this message “there is such a thing as a stupid question”, but I decided that would be disrespectful. The following passage is from The Message, which is not so much of a translation but a paraphrasing or interpretation of scripture into modern English. It was authored by Eugene H. Peterson…
God Provided Two Trees
October 2, 2023What does it mean that “the failure of mankind is not recognizing that what God has provided is all mankind needs?” This phrase suggests that humans often fail to appreciate the blessings and resources that God has already given them, instead seeking more and more without realizing that they already have enough. We often hear…